Retractable air and water hose mechanisms are extensively used in conjunction with automobile service stations, garages and the like. Such systems generally have a cabinet in which the air and/or water supply hose is housed. Some type of mechanism is used to retract the hose to a storage position. When a customer desires to use the hose to add air to the tires of an automobile parked next to the cabinet, for example, or to obtain water from a water hose located in the cabinet, the user pulls on the nozzle of the hose to withdraw it from a storage position to the point of use. After use, such users generally simply release the hose and the retractor mechanism within the cabinet pulls the hose back to the storage position.
In the past, many water and air hose housings, including appropriate retractor mechanisms, have been located in below-ground wells or buried cabinets. While such underground wells result in an unobtrusive housing, the wells frequently become flooded as a result of rain, snow or even water leaks within a water hose located within them. When the hoses housed in such wells are located in a cold climate, the water within the wells can become frozen, creating significant problems with respect to the withdrawal and return of the hoses into the cabinet. In addition, if a repair or replacement of the hose or any of the retraction mechanism is desired, it is cumbersome and difficult to accomplish such repair or replacement.
Many past retraction mechanisms for returning hoses back to the storage position within a cabinet used spring mechanisms of different types to accomplish this purpose. One such type of spring mechanism for retracting an overhead storage of a hose in a service station is shown in the patent to Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 2,002,777. As illustrated in Johnson, a number of pulleys on opposite sides of the housing are normally pulled toward the housing sides, and a hose is wound in a serpentine path from one side to the other across the pulleys. As the hose is extended, the pulleys move toward the center of the cabinet against the pull of the spring returns. Other types of spring mechanisms have been used to provide the return pull of the hose to cause it to retract to an initial stand-by position. Spring mechanisms, however, are subject to failure, the tension frequently varies with age, and they require lubrication to prevent premature failure.
Hose return mechanisms have been developed which use a fixed weight for a gravity return to retract the hose from an extended use position back to its storage position. Two such mechanisms, employed with below-ground cavities or wells, are disclosed in the patents to Davis U.S. Pat. No. 2,157,887 and Cox U.S. Pat. No. 2,225,859. Fixed weights are used in both of these devices for the retraction; so that the retraction pull becomes the greatest when the hose extension is the least, that is, when the hose is nearly fully retracted. If the user merely releases or lets go of the hose after its use, the pulling force increases since the weight of the portion of the hose already retracted, including its contents, is added to the fixed weight to cause the greatest retracting force to occur immediately at the point of full retraction. Sometimes this results in a relatively violent snapping-back of the hose being retracted, which can result in damage to the hose, the connection between the hose and the nozzle, and the nozzle itself.
Attempts have been made to solve the problem of "snapping-back" of the hose into the storage or stand-by position by providing a variable weight gravity return system in the form of an elongated chain forming the primary return weight. Such a mechanism is shown in the Caldwell U.S. Pat. No. 2,168,951. In Caldwell, the chain in the storage position rests in the bottom of an underground well. As the hose is withdrawn, links of the chain are progressively raised up out of the well to place a return pull or weight on the hose. When the hose is released, the chain settles into the bottom of the housing and the weight of the chain pulling the hose back into the housing diminishes as the hose is drawn into the housing.
An attempt to overcome both the problems of below-ground storage and to provide a variable weight return in a gravity return hose system is disclosed in the apparatus of the Holmgreen U.S. Pat. No. 1,928,178. Holmgreen discloses an above-ground cabinet in which a movable pulley is interconnected by a length of chain with a fixed weight to form the gravity return mechanism. When the hose is fully extended, the weight is lifted a substantial distance from the bottom of the cabinet by the length of chain attached to it. When the hose is released, the chain and weight together provide the initial return force for rapidly pulling the hose back into the retracted position. When the weight strikes the floor of the cabinet, the pull is reduced and the chain collapses on top of the weight in the bottom of the cabinet to progressively reduce the pull on the hose in a manner similar to the device disclosed in the Caldwell patent.
The patent to Walker U.S. Pat. No. 1,518,881 discloses an above-ground cabinet using a weight-operated return mechanism having a fixed weight of the type which is disclosed in the patents to Davis and Cox, discussed above. Thus, the device of Walker is subject to the same disadvantages, insofar as the retraction of the hose is concerned, as has been discussed in conjunction with the Davis and Cox patents Walker, however, does overcome the disadvantages of the wells or pits disclosed in Cox and Davis, since the device of Walker is located in an above-ground cabinet.
Another approach to the problem of "snap-back" of the hose is disclosed in the device of the patent to Sparling U.S. Pat. No. 2,026,237. The Sparling device is an above-ground gravity return hose reel. A fixed return weight is used, but hydraulic damping is employed to prevent snap-back of the hose on return. The weight used in the cabinet operates against the fluid in a hydraulic piston to cause a more gradual return of the hose to its stand-by position. Hydraulic damper mechanisms, however, are subject to substantial variations in operation, depending upon the temperature to which they are subjected. Particularly in extremely cold weather, the hydraulic damping action of the Sparling device is likely to increase to such an extent that full return of the hose does not take place. In such a situation, the nozzle may be left lying on the ground near the cabinet and is subject to extensive damage in the event a car or truck drives over it.
None of the devices disclosed in the patents discussed above includes any provision for cushioning the withdrawal force of a hose from a cabinet when it reaches the end of the length of hose which can be withdrawn from the cabinet. In all of the devices, if the hose is rapidly withdrawn, it reaches a stop, with considerable force on the hose and the connection between the hose and the nozzle, at the time the maximum length is pulled from the cabinet. Consequently, it is possible for the interconnection between the hose and the nozzle to be stressed to the point it breaks.
It is desirable to provide an above-ground gravity-operated hose return mechanism which is simple in structure, effective in operation, which minimizes "snap-back," is adaptable to various installation conditions, and which also reduces the possibility of damage caused by attempts to over-extend the hose from the cabinet.